Love, interrupted
by MzDany
Summary: Sequel to “Revelations” and continuation of Subtle changes”. Shane arrives at Dustin’s house for biology studies… slash ShaneDustin
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Well, chapter 4 of Late Night Musings fired up a few neurons in my brain and here's the somewhat longer result of what happened during the biology lesson.

**Love, interrupted  
****By Dany  
****Rated R**

Summary: Sequel to "Revelations" and continuation of "subtle changes". Shane arrives at Dustin's house for _biology studies…_(slash Shane/Dustin)

"Dustin, hello, are you listening?"

Dustin's head snapped up, his eyes meeting Kelly's with such a guilty expression, it made Storm Charger's owner smile despite her mild irritation.

"Sorry, Kel, I was..."

"...thinking about something. I know. You've been _thinking_ for the past few hours," Kelly said, stepping around the cash register. _Ever since Shane left_, she added in her mind, trying not to let her amusement at Dustin's fidgetiness show. Kelly had picked up on Dustin's attraction to Shane a long time ago and had been hoping the skateboarder would come around one day and reciprocate his friend's feelings. She didn't know what Shane's preferences in that matter were, but she had never seen him with a girl in here and that should mean something since he practically seemed to live on the couch in the alcove off the side of the cash counter. From where, Kelly mused, he just happened to have a nice, unobstructed view of Dustin whenever he was behind the counter.

"Uhm, what were you saying again, Kelly?"

"I asked if you wanted to leave a little early. Since you seem to be eager to get out of here today," she said with a grin. "Blake can take over until closing."

Dustin looked ecstatic and concerned at the same time. "But Blake doesn't know how to work the register."

"Well, today just turned out to be the day I'll be teaching him, then." Kelly nodded towards the checkout counter. "Besides, if he ever wants to make a career out of retail he needs to know about all this stuff anyways," she grinned.

Dustin snorted a laugh and enveloped her in a quick hug. "Have I ever told you..."

"…what a wonderful boss I am?" Kelly laughed. "Yes. Repeatedly."

Dustin gave her a dazzling smile, grabbed his backpack from behind the counter and turned towards the door with a last wave goodbye. He didn't catch Kelly's knowing smile as she watched him sprint out of the store.

**_Dustin's house…_**

"Dustin, Shane's here!"

His mother's voice from downstairs jolted Dustin out of his reverie and he almost fell off his sofa. For the better part of the last half hour he had been staring into space, a sports magazine lying forgotten in his lap. None of the articles could hold his attention – the nervous anticipation in his stomach was way too distracting. Now he hopped off the couch and went out into the hallway, where he found Shane already halfway up the stairs, grinning at him. Dustin wished fervently he could just grab the Air ninja and give him a proper hello kiss, but his mother was still standing in the foyer, gazing up at them, so he settled for a heated look and their usual knuckle-rapping and back-slapping routine.

"Hey, dude."

"Whazzup, man." They turned towards his room.

"Dustin, do you guys want anything? I can make you some sandwiches," Mrs. Brooks' voice drifted up to them from the bottom of the stairs. Dustin gave Shane an enquiring glance, but the look in his friend's eyes told him that it wasn't food he was hungry for.

"No, mom, we're good," he called back, "We're just gonna...study."

There was a short pause before his mom's voice came again. "Studying, huh? Sure!" She sounded amused "I know you guys are playing video games up there."

Dustin's face had taken on a shocked expression at her first words, but now he let out a relieved laugh. "Guilty as charged, mom. Guess you know us too well." He grinned at Shane as the Air ninja chuckled softly. Dustin pulled him into his room, kicking the door closed with his heel.

_Or maybe you don't know as that well at all._

_**Interruptions…**_

Shane drew him into a tight embrace as soon as the door fell shut and an instant surge of heat washed over Dustin. Without thinking he leaned forward and took the hello kiss he had been wanting to take back in the hallway. Shane was quick to respond, one hand snaking up and down Dustin's back while the other stayed around his waist, keeping them firmly locked together. Before his brain became entirely hormone-clogged, however, Dustin remembered the dangers of unexpected intrusions. With his mouth still glued to Shane's, Dustin blindly reached out, fumbling until his hand found the door handle and turned the lock inside the knob. _There_. Area secured!

Feeling somewhat safer now, Dustin vehemently returned his attention to Shane's tongue, and especially the things it was doing to the inside of his mouth. Kissing consumed them for long moments – until the air between them started to take on a recirculated quality. They broke apart, grinning sheepishly at each other.

"So, when's your test?" Shane suddenly asked.

The question threw Dustin somewhat, but he replied, "Day after tomorrow, why?"

Shane smiled a wolfish grin. "Good. That gives you all day tomorrow to read your textbook. Today we're doing _hands-on_ studies."

With that, Shane grabbed a fistful of Dustin's mustard-colored shirt and pulled him the few steps along towards the sofa. They fell into the cushions and Shane was about to nibble on Dustin's earlobe, when the other boy suddenly pulled away.

"Shane, don't get me wrong," he wheezed, breathless. "It's not like I'm not enjoying this – _believe me, I do - _but I need to know something..."

Shane fixed him with a serious gaze. "You're wondering why," he stated flatly. "Why I'm suddenly here - and all over you."

Dustin nodded. "Yeah. I mean...what changed your mind?"

"More like _who_," Shane muttered and Dustin's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Huh?"

Shane was staring at his hands in his lap. "Tina."

"Tina?" Dustin echoed incredulously. He vividly remembered the pretty, brown-haired Latino girl Shane met at the skate park about two weeks ago. He had quietly observed their flirtations and when Shane told him he was thinking about asking her out, Dustin had burned inside. Outside, though, he had grinned, slapped his friend on the back and told him to go for it. Since then, they had gone out twice.

"But I thought you two had such a good time together a few days ago," Dustin said, genuinely puzzled. "At least that's what you said."

"Might have been what I said, but it wasn't really the truth." Shane sighed before he continued. "Don't get me wrong, she's a really nice girl and I know she likes me, but as for me..." The Air ninja's eyes took on a faraway look for a moment. "When I dropped her off at her house after our date, I...I kissed her, but it didn't do anything for me." Shane's eyes refocused and fixed on Dustin. "There I was, kissing a really hot girl, and all I could think of was how it would be to kiss _you_ again. And I guess that's when it finally hit me. I realized then that it wasn't Tina, or any other girl, I wanted to be with; it was you."

Dustin listened breathlessly, his heart racing while Shane continued to speak.

"It wasn't so much that this whole thing _changed my mind about you - us;_ it's more like it finally made me face something that's probably been there for a long time, but I've just never acknowledged it." Shane took a long breath, looking thoughtful as if trying to figure out how to best word his next sentence.

"Girls are interesting, they're fun," he poked Dustin's chest playfully. "They're soft," he added with a grin, "but when it comes down to either going out with a girl or hanging out with you..." he shrugged, "Pretty much a no-brainer there."

Dustin gave him a smile that lit up the room – only to have it falter a moment later. He fixed Shane with a long look; not really wanting to ask, but _needing_ to know.

"What about the others – Tori, Sensei…And what about your parents? Your skate buddies?"

Shane looked away, uncomfortable. "I'm not gonna lie to you; I'm kinda scared of what their reactions are going to be. I guess that's why I haven't faced my feelings earlier…" Shane sighed. "You'll just have to be patient with me about that, okay?" He looked up, a silent plea in his eyes.

Dustin reached out to weave his fingers through Shane's, giving his hand an encouraging squeeze. He wasn't really worried about Tori – after all, they had been best friends for years. _The three musketeers. _But when it came to the others, he understood where Shane was coming from; they were a good team, and friends, but how they would react to him and Shane being together…there was just no way to predict that.

Parents were a very touchy subject, too, especially since Dustin had not yet confronted his parents about his preferences, either, so in this matter both of them could do little else than hope for the best once it was time to come out to them.

As for Shane's skateboard-poser buddies – personally, Dustin didn't give a hoot about any of them, but they were his love's friends, and a pretty macho bunch at that. Better not tip any of them off at all.

Dustin nodded resolutely. "Cool with me, dude. We'll just take it one day at a time. The most important thing for now is that we're open and honest with _each other_." Another heartening hand squeeze. "The rest will work out somehow, I'm sure." Dustin hoped he sounded more confident than he felt. After all, eventually going public with their feelings for each other was new territory for him, too.

Shane looked relieved. He leaned his forehead against Dustin's, and for a moment they sat in silence, simply enjoying their closeness.

"So, where do we go from here _now_?" Dustin whispered. Shane's mouth quirked as he reached for him, obviously more inclined towards _showing_ the Earth ninja instead of verbally elaborating on some of the things he seemed to have in mind.

Two quick tugs later, Dustin's t-shirt was on the floor; Shane's followed not long after.

Over the years they had seen each other without their shirts countless times, but for Dustin to finally be able to touch what so far he could only admire from a distance had the Earth ninja lightheaded with excitement.

His fingers traveled over Shane's arms, feeling the silky skin and the hard muscles underneath. Shane was doing his own fair share of exploring, strong hands sliding over Dustin's smooth chest, his fingers brushing each nipple slightly - which promptly elicited a small groan from Dustin. Those teasing fingers then went on to caress the Earth ninja's firm abdomen, trace around his ribs to snake up his back, finally coming to rest on his shoulder.

Shane's eyes were fixed on him, dark and hot, and Dustin surged against him, pressing their bare chests together. He pushed Shane backwards until the bigger boy was half-draped over the arm of the sofa. Previously uncatalogued feelings flooded Dustin's mind and body, but he didn't waste time trying to make sense of them; instead he simply let himself _feel._

A long, passionate kiss consumed them for a while, then Dustin broke away and began to kiss his way down Shane's jaw and towards the side of his neck where he playfully nipped at the Red Ranger's pulsing main artery. That earned him an audible intake of breath from Shane, and with a complacent grin Dustin noticed the goose bumps that promptly formed on his friend's arms.

"Damn, Dustin…" The words were no more than a hoarse whisper as Shane raised a hand to comb his fingers through Dustin's curls. The hand that was still resting on Dustin's shoulder dug into the Yellow Ranger's skin, not tight enough to hurt, but Dustin shivered nevertheless. Shane shifted slightly before he leaned in to fit their mouths together again and Dustin was suddenly very aware that he was lying between Shane's splayed legs; it felt so good, _Shane_ felt so good, his solid body, his scent, the feel of his skin…

Dustin felt himself swelling rapidly. His need grew irrepressibly and he instinctively ground his hips into Shane's groin. By now they were both breathing hard between kisses. Shane crushed him against his chest, welcoming the contact of their heated skins. Then his mouth was on Dustin's throat, kissing and sucking on the tender flesh there. Dustin inhaled sharply, both from the delicious sensation and the feel of the hard bulge that was pressing against his thigh. Shane was definitely as excited as he was.

Hands roamed over exposed skin, kisses became more urgent as the heat between them increased and the friction built up…

And then, reality came crashing down on them.

They both jumped when the alarm on Shane's morpher went off.

Abruptly, Shane's face fell. "No, _no_, please not now!"

The two ninjas stared at each other dejectedly.

"Man, I can't believe this!" Dustin let his head fall onto Shane's still heaving chest. "I can barely walk, how am I supposed to fight?" Shane could hear the embarrassed grin in his almost-lover's voice and despite his irritation at the ill-timed interruption, he felt the corners of his own mouth turn upwards.

"I know how you're feeling. Literally."

Shane's morpher chimed again, followed by Dustin's only an instant later.

"If this is some goofy vegetable-looking monster..." the Yellow Ranger grumbled.

"Damn you, Lothor," Shane cursed quietly as he raised the morpher to his mouth. "Go for Shane."

"I just got a visual of an attack in the Industrial Park," came Cam's no-nonsense voice over the communicator. "There are two of them this time. Tori and the Thunders are already on the way. I'm still trying to reach Dustin…"

"No need, he's right here," Shane injected. "We'll be there in a minute." Shane cut the connection and let his head fall back onto the sofa pillow with a sigh.

Dustin raised his head and the heat in his chocolate-brown eyes had not diminished. "As soon as this is over..."

"We're coming straight back here!" Shane finished the sentence for him as he reached for his shirt.

"Definitely!"

Dustin reluctantly climbed off Shane's sprawled-out body, plucked his own t-shirt off the floor and walked stiffly towards the window while trying to tug inconspicuously at the crotch of his pants.

All the while Shane was working on conjuring up any image possible that would quickly and effectively reverse the condition of the bulging dilemma inside his own jeans. He finally settled on the memory of having to change his sister's diapers many years ago. That yielded the desired effect and by the time Dustin finally got the window raised up, Shane felt safe enough to stand up.

He joined the Earth ninja by the window. Dustin was looking out over the backyard below. "Coast's clear."

Shane swung one leg out onto the slanted roof. "Let's make this quick, huh?" he grinned, leaned back towards Dustin for a quick kiss, and streaked off the roof and towards the Industrial Park.

Dustin hopped onto the windowsill, crouching there for a moment. "Real quick. We _sooo_ have more studying to do," he mumbled and threw a last, wistful look at the couch before he followed Shane in a blur of yellow.

**_Rough encounters…_**

They found the Industrial Park in a state of chaos. Overturned cars, trucks and other equipment littered the street leading up to the main plaza. Most were badly scorched, some were still smoldering and one or two were actually still burning. Luckily, there were no people in sight anywhere.

In the midst of all the destruction were two almost identical-looking creatures, both armed with large and vicious looking canon-like weapons which they were waving around with apparent gusto, igniting more cars as they made their way around the plaza. And judging by their laughter, they were having a blast. They reminded Dustin vaguely of a character in a movie he had seen just recently. The Thing of The Fantastic Four. Only here were two Things, their brick-like skins more red than tan, and their heads on top of their tall, stocky frames were square and way out of proportion to the rest of their bodies. They were way freakier looking than any Hollywood invention, but then again, this was Lothor they were dealing with, after all. Dustin briefly wondered if the evil space ninja had seen the same movie.

On the plaza they saw Tori, Hunter and Blake moving in on the Brick Brothers from behind the cover of an overturned van. Shane and Dustin quickly morphed and hurried to join their teammates. But before they had taken three steps, one of the Thing-monsters spied the Blue, Navy and Crimson Rangers and aimed his huge weapon on them. He turned out to be an awful shot, however, and the blast fell short, the energy surge ripping into the sidewalk instead. Unfortunately, the weapon's raw firepower made up for the untrained aim and Blake, Hunter and Tori were close enough to the point of impact to be lifted off their feet from the shockwave. The two Thunder Rangers spun around as if being yanked backwards by invisible strings. Tori was flung backwards as well, sailing through the air with a cry of pain. Shane moved purely on reflex, hurling himself towards her, arms extended. He caught her easily, but the force with which she crashed into him made him stagger, bringing him down to one knee. He was up again an instant later, pulling her up with him. "You okay, Tor?" he asked anxiously and was relieved to see the Blue Ranger nodding.

"Fine, but these brick heads are so in for it now!" came the heated reply from behind her darkened visor and Shane grinned. Tori was mad and it was not healthy for any monster to get the Blue Wind Ranger mad.

Shane cast a quick glance towards the far side of the street where Blake and Hunter had landed amidst a row of neatly lined-up garbage cans. Dustin was just helping Blake to his feet while Hunter was already standing, vigorously brushing bits of trash from his suit. _Add two more ticked-off Thunder Rangers to the equation._

"All right, enough playing," Shane decided out loud. "Time to bring out some bigger guns." He raised his morpher wrist and depressed a button. "Battelizer!"

The reaction was instantaneous as the ultra-heavy armor began to materialize in half a dozen places on his Ranger suit and only a few seconds later he leapt into the air, the boosters on his back propelling him upwards with dizzying speed. He positioned his body so that the laser disk embedded in his now-armored chest was pointed directly at the two monsters a dozen feet below him.

The events of the next few seconds happened seemingly in slow motion.

Shane unloaded a heavy volley of concentrated energy at the two creatures at the same time as one of them pointed his canon-gun upwards and fired. The two massive energy pulses hit their targets simultaneously – and dead on. The monster's blast caught Shane in the torso with the force of a speeding train, vaporizing his chest armor and overloading the rest of the Battelizer. Through the searing pain, Shane caught only a fraction of a glimpse of the explosion below him that instantly destroyed the Evil Twins before he was catapulted backwards in an involuntary triple somersault like a trapeze artist. Only when he started to fall, there was no net down below to safely catch him.

The force of the energy blast had completely knocked the wind out of him, so he was unable to even cry out in fear as the concrete sidewalk seemingly shot up to meet him. His brain dimly registered that he was still wearing his Ranger suit and he took that small spark of hope of surviving the fall with him into unconsciousness.

_**To Be Continued…**_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: This chapter contains sexual situations between Dustin and Shane. Please consider yourself warned._

When Dustin saw Shane plummet towards the ground he thought his heart would stop from the sight alone. He heard a panicked voice scream his friend's name, realized that it was his own and found himself running towards the crash site with a speed he didn't know he possessed. He barely spared it a glance when the monsters exploded a few yards to his left for his entire attention was firmly fixed on the motionless red form sprawled out on the concrete. He scurried to a stop, dropping to his knees at the same time as a ripple went through Shane's body. The Red Ranger's suit began to shimmer, then evaporated, leaving Shane lying on the ground in his jeans and t-shirt.

Dustin carefully rolled Shane onto his back and bent over him, his frantic gaze traveling over his friend's body and face. Thankfully, he didn't see any obvious injuries, but that didn't mean that there wasn't internal bleeding or that Shane didn't have a concussion – or worse. Dustin's hands were shaking when he reached out to feel under the Red Ranger's jaw. To his relief, he found Shane's pulse right away. "Come on, babe, wake up," he whispered, repeating it like a mantra until he heard hurried boot-steps behind him. Suddenly, Tori, Blake and Hunter were crouched around him, their expressions behind their open visors grave and concerned.

None of them wasted time on needless questions such as 'is he all right?' Instead, Hunter raised his morpher.

"Cam, we need an emergency transport to Ops. NOW!" he barked, and before Dustin could cradle Shane's body into his arms, all five of them started to shimmer and vanished into thin air.

_**Back at Ops…**_

The Rangers materialized in the middle of Ninja Ops' control room. Dustin blinked rapidly to clear his vision from the transport to see Cam already leaning over Shane, waving his medical scanner over the unconscious ninja's head. They all powered down while Cam was tending to their leader. Without looking up from the readings, he barked to no one in particular, "I need the cot from my room, and also some pillows and blankets."

Blake and Tori jumped into action and were back a few moments later, bearing the requested items. Hunter and Dustin carefully placed Shane onto the cot while Cam kept running the scanner over him, his expression unreadable. When he finally put the device aside, the technician spoke to everybody, but his almond eyes were fixed on the Yellow Ranger.

"He was lucky. Because he was still morphed, a lot of the damage was reflected, plus there was still some of the residual energy from the Battelizer in his suit and that gave him just enough extra protection."

Dustin's shoulders dropped in relief. "So nothing's broken, no internal injuries or stuff like that?"

Cam shook his head. "No, but I'm sure he'll have a killer headache once he wakes up."

"When do you think that'll be?" Tori asked, but Cam shrugged.

"I honestly have no idea."

"Isn't there anything else we can do, Cam?" Hunter was still looking worried.

"Afraid not," Cam replied, "other than monitoring him until he regains consciousness."

"I'll do that." Dustin picked up a chair from the other side of the room, placed it next to Shane's cot and collapsed into it. Then he held out his hand to Cam for the scanning device. "Now, how do I work this thing?"

**_Let's just go…_**

Shane finally stirred almost an hour later. Dustin was out of the chair in an instant, kneeling next to the cot while Shane's eyelids fluttered open.

"Ouch," the Air ninja winced, made the corresponding face and put a hand on his head. "Killer headache."

Dustin couldn't help but snicker at his friend's unknowing repetition of Cam's exact words. He reached out and ran his hand carefully through Shane's short hair. "Welcome back, man; you had us all scared there for a moment."

Shane squinted at the harsh, fluorescent ceiling lights and Dustin could imagine the pounding that must be going on inside his friend's head.

"What happened?"

"Later." Dustin kept raking his fingers through Shane's hair. "You want an aspirin?"

"No, I want three."

Grinning, glad to be able to do something useful, Dustin jumped up. "One order of assorted drugs, extra potent, coming right up."

He disappeared into Ninja Ops' small kitchenette and returned a minute later with the aspirin and some Gatorade to find Shane propped up on his elbow, eyes scanning the room. "Where's everybody?"

Dustin handed him the pills and unscrewed the top from the sports drink bottle. "Tori had to go home, Blake and Hunter had to head back to the shop, since Blake was supposed to be locking up for me, and Cam is in the Zord Bay."

Shane slowly pulled himself up into a sitting position. He popped all three pills at once and took a long swig from the plastic bottle. He looked drained and his dark complexion was still too far on the gray side for Dustin's liking, but when he spoke after a moment, his voice was firm. "Let's get out of here, too, then."

Dustin's gaze turned anxious almost instantly. "I don't know, dude, you really should be resting…"

"Probably, but not here," Shane said determinedly.

"Shane…"

"Dustin, have you ever had to lie on this thing?" Shane threw the cot a mildly disgusted look. "A torture rack is more comfortable than that." His dark eyes looked up at Dustin in a silent plea until the Earth ninja threw up his hands in capitulation.

"All right, I guess, but we better head back to my place, then. 'Cause if your mom were to see you like this…"

Shane made a face. "Yeah, I know. And I don't feel like playing _20 Questions_."

"More like thirty," Dustin mumbled, then moved to help Shane get up from the cot. "I'll just leave Cam a note and then we're outta here."

**_Dustin's room…again_**

Under the cover of darkness, the two ninjas risked streaking all the way back to the Brooks house, where they came to a stop crouched behind Mr. Brooks' SUV in the driveway. Dustin threw a worried glance at Shane whose forehead was glistening with perspiration. The short streak had clearly exerted him.

"Dude, you need to lie down."

Shane didn't even protest as Dustin pulled his friend's arm across his shoulder and grabbed his waist with his other free hand. Together, they slowly made their way to the front door and Dustin was glad to hear the faint sounds of the television drifting out of the living room as he inched the door open. _Great. His parents would never hear them._

They crossed the short hallway and snuck up the stairs, and by the time they reached the upper floor landing, Shane was panting. Once back inside Dustin's room, the Red Ranger dropped onto the bed like a stone. Dustin looked over his exhausted friend for a moment before he patted his knee affectionately.

"You just rest and I'll get you some water, okay?"

Incoherent mumbling was the only reply from the bed.

_**Repose…**_

Dustin bounded down the stairs, not bothering to hide his presence from his parents this time. Officially, they had been holed up in his room the entire time, after all. But he reached the kitchen unquestioned, where he grabbed the water and a bag of chips, _just in case. _On the way back out, he paused by the wall phone, thought for a moment, then picked up the receiver and dialed seven familiar digits. A moment later he was speaking to Mrs. Clark, letting her know that Shane had crashed on his couch, wiped out and disillusioned from too many consistent losses playing video games.

The lies came easily to him, even though he didn't like it; he had done it way too many times in the past year.

'_The down-parts of being a Ranger,' _he thought sadly after he hung up the phone, then took the water and chips up to his room.

Shane had kicked off his sneakers in the meantime, but other than that, the Red Ranger was in the exact same position he had been when Dustin left; arms sprawled out, upper body stretched across the entire mattress, whereas his legs from the knees on down were hanging off the bed. Not to mention that he was also dead asleep.

_Should have expected that…_With a resigned sigh, Dustin slid an arm beneath Shane's knees, pulling them up and onto the mattress. The move straightened out Shane's body enough to create a barely sufficient amount of space on the bed for Dustin to lie down as well. But first he moved on to the next business at hand.

_This is not exactly how I had pictured getting into your pants, but..._A rueful smile formed on Dustin's face while he unbuckled Shane's belt and pulled the jeans off his unresponsive friend. He went to drape a blanket over him when he suddenly paused to let his eyes travel over Shane's prone form, now clad only in black and red checkered boxer shorts and his red tank top. Then he stripped off his own pants and climbed into bed next to Shane, pulling the blanket over them both. Shane reflexively rolled onto his side, presenting his back to Dustin and the Earth ninja scooted closer, fitting their bodies together. For a long moment he simply lay there, staring at the back of Shane's head.

_'If you only knew what you do to me,'_ he thought wistfully, then planted a kiss on the side of the sleeping Air ninja's neck and draped his arm across his waist before he closed his eyes and tried to blank out his mind enough to go to sleep.

**_Mutual comfort…_**

Shane awoke sluggishly and disoriented. He blinked against the murky darkness, but the moonlight shining into the room from the undraped window illuminated enough shadows for him to recognize his surroundings; a room almost as familiar to him as his own. Dustin's place. But the view was all wrong...Shane frowned. From his reclining side position he had a clear sight of the faux leather couch he usually crashed on, which could only mean that he was in Dustin's bed, but why? And where was Dustin? Suddenly, the events from earlier on crashed back into his mind. The monster fight, summoning the Battelizer, a searing blast of energy right into his chest, flames, heat, the ground coming towards him at sickening speed...Instinctively, Shane shook his head, attempting to dislodge the images from his mind, but the gesture only caused a wave of dizziness to wash over him. He groaned softly - then flinched in surprise as something behind him moved. An instant later a familiar hand was on his arm and Dustin's soft voice sounded from right below his ear. "Shane?"

It was only then that Shane became aware of the solid body pressed up against him. He rolled onto his back and looked up into Dustin's concerned eyes. He attempted a weak grin. "Hi."

"Hey." Dustin's anxious expression remained. "How're you feeling?"

Shane considered this for a moment. "Okay, I guess. Headache's gone at least." He put a hand to his temple in emphasis. "What time is it?"

Dustin gave a slight shrug. "I dunno, two-something, I think."

"In the morning?"

Dustin saw Shane's eyes widen and put a hand on his chest. "Relax, dude, I already called your house and told your mom that you're gonna crash at my place tonight. She was cool with it."

That did relax Shane somewhat; their parents were used to having them stay at each other's homes. Back at the Clark house, Dustin was as familiar with Shane's couch as Shane was with Dustin's.

Shane nodded his thanks and rubbed at his eyes to get the last of the fog out of his brain. "Aw, man, I can't believe I was out of it for so long."

"You took a pretty bad hit; takes time to bounce back from something like that." Dustin was still hovering over him, his face so uncommonly grave that Shane reached out to touch his cheek.

"Hey, you ok?" he asked, a frown forming between his brows as he gingerly sat up in bed.

"Yeah, I wasn't the one who took a direct blast to the chest and then fell five stories onto solid concrete."

"I'm all right, Dustin. It takes more than a little tickle like that to keep me off my feet for long." Shane smirked, but Dustin wasn't going for it; instead, the Yellow Ranger just blinked and looked away. "I know, and _yeah_, I've seen you take hits like that before but...this time was just really bad. I mean that fireball they shot at you was huge, and then seeing you drop like that..." Dustin turned back to Shane's face, a mixture of agony and embarrassment in his eyes. "You had me scared shitless, Shane."

Shane reached out, pulling Dustin against his chest. "I'm sorry, D."

"'s all right." Dustin's reply was muffled against his skin, but then the Earth ninja raised his head. "As long as you're okay now, as long as you're here..." He cut himself off by planting a firm kiss on Shane's lips. Shane responded eagerly, pulling Dustin with him as he lay back so that the Earth ninja ended up draped over him.

"Shane, I don't know about this, you're still hurting…" Dustin protested weakly, but Shane gripped the back of his neck, pulling his head back down until their mouths were almost touching.

"If you don't keep kissing me, I'll hurt _you_," he whispered, his grin belying his words. Dustin gladly complied, sealing their lips with burning urgency. Their bodies' reactions were almost instantaneous, and with now only the thin fabrics of their tank tops and their underwear between them, the effects were way more pronounced than the first time.

Feeling Dustin growing hard against him once again, Shane couldn't bite back the growl of pleasure that escaped his throat.

If his morpher went off now, he'd toss it out the window without hesitation.

He tugged on Dustin's shirt impatiently, and the brunet did not need any further invitation as he pulled off his top and immediately went to work on ridding Shane of his. Skin to skin, they were soon rolling around the entire width of Dustin's queen-size bed, ardently picking up where they had been forced to leave off a few hours ago.

Dustin was careful to keep his full weight off Shane's chest. From his own experience with energy weapon blasts he knew that the Red Ranger would be sporting a painful, not to mention _huge_, bruise for the next few weeks. Bracing himself on either side of the body underneath him, he lowered his mouth to Shane's upper torso and began to shower the bruised flesh with feather-light kisses.

Shane closed his eyes, reveling in the feel of Dustin's lips on his skin, his tongue swirling around his nipple, nipping, licking, teasing…Shane groaned at the intense, almost unbearable pleasure and arched his back in a desperate request for more. He had just enough breath to utter an almost inaudible "Please…"

Lost in sensations, it took him a moment to realize what the sudden sound from above was: Dustin was giggling. Shane cracked an eyelid open. "What's so funny?" he asked with all the dignity he could muster.

Dustin shrugged, grinning down on him. "You. You're hot when you beg." The Earth ninja laughed softly at Shane's mock-exasperated expression. "Kidding, dude. I'm just happy. Happy that you are all right, that you're here with me right now, that I can finally be with you…like this."

Shane couldn't help but smile back at him. By now he was feeling pretty darn happy himself. Heedless of the bruises on his chest, Shane wrapped his arms around Dustin, drew him tightly against him and buried his face into the Yellow Ranger's neck.

Joy of life. They had won another battle, had beaten Lothor back once again and he, Shane, was alive and alone with just the person he wanted to celebrate this victory with.

Mouth still firmly attached to Dustin's neck, Shane rose up and gripped his lover's shoulder. The Earth ninja let himself be rolled onto his back without protest. Their positions now reversed, Shane looked down onto his best friend's flushed face, grinning mischievously.

"Can't let you have _all_ the fun," he said and went on to lavish some serious attention on Dustin's chest. He sucked on a nipple, gently at first, then more insistently, coaxing whimpers of pleasure out of the Earth ninja underneath him.

Dustin had no idea that a part of his anatomy he had hardly ever given any thought to so far could suddenly turn so sensitive. Every playful nip from Shane sent bolts of delicious electricity straight into his groin until he was positively writhing under the onslaught of the Air ninja's lips and tongue on his nipples.

"Shane, I need…I want to…" Dustin began to stammer hoarsely, then bit his lips, cheeks burning.

"What do you want to do, babe?" Shane whispered, his voice as raw with emotions as Dustin's. "Tell me."

Dustin took a breath before he looked straight into Shane's eyes. "I…I want to touch you."

Shane gazed back at him with penetrating eyes. His reply was hoarse but steady. "Okay."

Dustin swallowed. How many times had he been imagining this?Secret fantasies in a dark room, in this very bed, as a matter of fact…Only this time it was real.

Dustin's hand shook slightly as he propped himself up on one elbow, his fingers tracing down his best friend's dark skin, over hard abdominal muscles and lower. Shane seemed to be barely breathing, immobilized by anticipation, but just before he made any further moves, Dustin paused, looking nervous all of a sudden. "Shane, I just want to let you know that…this isn't just about your body, ok? This is about you – all of you."

Shane held his gaze, soft and warm and never flinching. "I know."

Encouraged, Dustin smiled and his hand finally slid inside the red boxers. It felt strange, yet so exciting to hold Shane in his hand – steel wrapped in velvet. Shane's eyelids fluttered until his eyes were mere slits and his breath began to come in shallow, ragged bursts. The sight was so hot that Dustin's own member throbbed even harder, begging to be released from the confines of his shorts.

Suddenly, Shane surge against him, his mouth clamping down on Dustin's in a ferocious, all-consuming kiss that completely threw the Earth ninja's rhythm for a moment. Then Shane's fingers were at the waistband of his shorts, tugging, searching – and finding. Dustin drew in a sharp breath at Shane's first touch.

Ablaze with mindless need, Dustin thrust into Shane's hand, his heart threatening to break through his chest at the sensations Shane's ministrations evoked from him.

Gulping for breath between their deep, open-mouthed kisses, Shane suddenly pulled back, looking at Dustin with eyes filled with such desire and affection that the Earth ninja's pulse sped up yet another notch.

"Dustin, I…I'm gonna…" he panted as Dustin leaned in and kissed him with tender passion, swallowing Shane's groan. Then Shane's hips jerked. The Air ninja shuddered once more, then broke their kiss to gaze at Dustin with glazed eyes, yet he somehow possessed the frame of mind to keep on working on him. Apparently, he could tell that Dustin was getting close as well.

With his own high yet to abate, Shane watched Dustin, and a more beautiful sight he could not have wished for. The way Dustin felt, his flushed face, the sounds he made and especially the fiery desire in his eyes gave Shane a mental orgasm that rivaled his physical one from a moment ago.

_To be able to give and receive so much pleasure…_

Dustin choked back a sob as waves of liquid heat suddenly rolled through him. A moment later, Shane's free hand wrapped around him. Dustin gladly leaned into the embrace, spent and marveling at what had just transpired between them.

They held each other until their breathing returned to normal before Dustin raised his head, looking around in obvious search for something. He finally reached out and picked up his shirt from the edge of the bed, using it in lieu of a towel to clean them both up.

"Have you ever done this before?" Shane asked quietly when he could finally find his voice, and the blush that crept into Dustin's cheeks was visible even in the semi-darkness.

"No. You?"

"No." Shane cleared his throat self-consciously before he said, "Well, not on somebody else, that is." An abashed grin formed on his face.

Dustin grinned back. "Yeah, same here." His chocolate-brown eyes fixed on Shane. "But you have no idea how long I've been wanting to do this."

Shane looked towards the sofa and suddenly emitted a soft laugh. "You know, all those times I've crashed on your couch…" His eyes sparkled. "All the fun we've been missing out on…"

"All the more to make up for," Dustin grinned.

"Mmmm, can't wait." Shane kissed him tenderly and Dustin melted back into the Red Ranger's arms, his head resting in the crook of his shoulder.

Now, with the adrenaline rush of their passions abating, Shane could feel a drowsiness enveloping him. A small groan of fatigue confirmed for him that Dustin was in the same condition. They crawled back under the blanket, fitting themselves together comfortably. Neither of them bothered with finding any of their discarded clothing; instead, they simply enjoyed the new sensation of having nothing but warm skin between them. A completely new feeling for both of them, but something they could definitely get used to.

The edges of Shane's awareness were rapidly getting fuzzy – to a point where the sudden sound of Dustin's voice actually startled him.

"Shane? You asleep yet?"

"Huh?…no, what's up?"

"I was just thinking something…" A moment of quiet, then, "I think it would be a good idea for us to, you know, get tested before we, uhm…go any further."

Dustin looked up, Shane looked down and the Yellow Ranger could see warmth and understanding in his lover's eyes.

"I always thought you hated needles," Shane said.

"Yeah, but this is worth it."

Shane smiled and lifted his arm to run his fingers through Dustin's hair. "Tell you what: We'll go together after school later on if nothing else comes up, ok?"

Dustin nodded while he ran through a mental list of _somethings_ that could be coming up: alien battles, ninja training, unexpected Ranger drills, the third world war…none of which could keep him from getting a couple of syringes full of his blood sucked out of his vein by a three-inch needle – as long as Shane was with him to hold his hand. This was for their future, after all.

Dustin smiled before he put his head back onto Shane's chest. "Not very romantic, I know," he mumbled, "but necessary."

"Yeah." Shane's fingers continued to comb through thick, dark curls. " But we can always work on the romantic parts afterwards."

The Earth ninja let out a chuckle. "I've got a couple of ideas…"

Beneath Dustin's cheek, Shane's chest vibrated slightly with his own chortle, but his words were beginning to sound slurred. "Me, too. Guess we'll find out tonight whether we had the same ideas."

With Shane already more than halfway into dreamland, Dustin didn't bother with a reply. But this evening suddenly seemed way too far away.

With his last remaining strength, Dustin lifted his head once more and planted a closed-eyed kiss somewhere in the region between Shane's chin and his mouth before he snuggled tighter into his lover's embrace and started to drift off into blissful sleep himself.

"G'night, Shane," he whispered.

_I love you. And hopefully soon I'll work up the nerve to tell you._

**_Morning after…_**

Way too soon, the sound of the alarm clock from the nightstand broke the silence of the room like klaxons on a battle cruiser. The two entwined bodies on the bed jerked simultaneously and Dustin reluctantly disentangled himself from Shane's arms to hit the snooze button. Two seconds later he was back in his previous position, snuggling into Shane's side – until he felt something solid pressed up against his stomach. Grinning, he raised his head, looking into Shane's sleepy face. "Good morning." He lifted the blanket. "And good morning to you, too," he addressed Shane's morning erection with a crooked grin.

Eyes still closed, Shane stretched lazily, like a cat. Dustin watched him. They had just spent their first night together – as lovers. And to wake up in Shane's arms, remembering what had happened between them, knowing they had taken the next step together - joy flooded his body and mind, leaving him with a high that no drug could. This was great, wonderful, awes….

"Dustin, about what happened a few hours ago..." Shane had opened his eyes and was now looking at him, his face carefully blank.

Dustin froze as his happiness abruptly began to crumble all around him. "Oh God, you're having second thoughts," he croaked. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…"

"What? _No_." Shane pulled him up and cut him off with a kiss. "Are you kidding? I was going to say that I hope _you_ wouldn't have any second thoughts about what we did..."

Dustin was so relieved, he was grinning like an idiot. "No, dude, no way!" He followed up on his exclamation with several hungry kisses, each of which Shane returned only too willingly.

"Matter of fact, I was just thinking..." he breathed against Dustin's mouth a long moment later, "We should do this after every battle. Best tension relief I can think of."

"Why wait for a battle?" Dustin sported a mischievous grin as he rolled on top of Shane, eager fingers already reaching between them, seeking, until a throaty growl from the Air ninja told him that he had found his target.

When they finally arrived at school almost forty-five minutes late, even the detention slips their teacher promptly presented them with couldn't quite wipe the grins off their faces.

**THE END**

_A/N: Thank you for all your nice reviews, even though this particular pairing is certainly not the most popular one. But for me it always held a fascination – besides the fact that I just like seeing those two together._

_PS: The 'uncensored' version can be read on Cmar's www. Rangerfiction. net_


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